2)elta xapsilon 



HA Mil -TON 



SetttH Centennial Exercises 



HAMILTON CHAPTER OF DELTA UPSILON 



WEDNESDAY, JUNE 23, 1897 



/ 

Hamilton CoIIegfc, Clinton, N. Y« 



^ 



b > 




CLINTON, N. Y. 

1898 






©fficers of tbe 'Bn's 
29816 

"President, Rev. Milton Waldo, D. D. 
First Vice-Vresident, Ira W. Allen, LL. D. 

Vice-'Presi dents : 
Rev. Linus M. Miller, D. D.. 
Rev. Richard G. Keyes, 
Rev. Yates Hickey. 

George W. Newcomb, Esq.. 

Rev. Byron Bosvs'orth, 

Rev. William L. Page, 
James S. Baker. 
John N. Beach, 

Rev. Henry Loomis, 

Professor Francis M. Burdick, LL. D., 
Dr. Selden H. Talcott, Ph. D., 
Hon. Oliver E. Branch, 

Sup't George Griffith, Ph. D., 
Frederick W. Griffith. 
[Marshal, Melvin G. Dodge. 



.\2>^^-°''^°^^ 



1899 







Semi-centennial lEjercises 
IFDamilton dbapter ot Belta XHpsilon 



IB 



EDNESDAY, June 23, 1897, is a day that 
will long be remembered by those sons 
of Delta Upsilon who came back to Col- 
lege Hill to share in the celebration of the 
fiftieth anniversary of the birth of the Hamilton chap- 
ter. Invitations had been issued to all the members of 
the chapter ; and for v/eeks previous to the celebra- 
tion the local committee had been working that all 
visitors should be royally welcomed. The morning 
dawned bright and clear, and no cloud came to mar 
the brightness and glory of the day. 

The founders of the chapter met at the house of 
Rev. Edward P. Powell at 8 a. m., and escorted by 
the marshal, marched to the Chapter House. The 
following is a list of the members present during 
the day. 

Rev. Dr. Linus M. Miller, honorary, James F. 
Converse, '48, Rev. Richard G. Keyes, '48, Rev. 
Dr. Milton Waldo, '48, Rev. Yates Hickey, '49, 
Rev. Hiram E. Johnson, '49, Henry C. Kingsbury, 
'49, George W. Newcomb, '49, Ira W. Allen, 
LL. D., 'so, Rev. Byron Bosworth, '50, Joseph 



4 5)elta lapsilon 

C. Ford, '51, Rev. William B. Dada, "S3, Rev. 
Edward P. Powell, '53, Rev. Professor. William H. 
Maynard, D. D., '54, Rev. William L. Page, '54, 
Rev. Dwight Scovel, '54, Milton Howe, '56, James 
S. Baker, '=^7, Rev. Joseph E. Tinker, "57, Dr. 
Peter W. Emens, '57, Rev. Chester W. Hawley, 
Amherst '^8, Rev. Isaac P. Powell, "60, James 
S. Greves, '61, John N. Beach, '62, Rev. Dr. Henry 
Ward, '62, Dr. Augustus B. South wick, '63, 
Kendrick S. Putnam, '64, Rev. Dr. Luther A. 
Ostrander, '65, Rev. Isaac O. Best, '67, Hon. 
Charles E. Rice, LL. D., '67. Rev. Dr. Henry Randall 
Waite, '68, Professor Francis M. Burdick, LL. D., 
'69, Professor Eliot R. Payson, Ph. D., '69, Fred- 
erick H. Gouge, '70, Henry C. Maine, '70, Principal 
John E. Massee, '73, Rev. James F. Brodie, '76, 
Superintendent George Griffith, Ph. D., '77, John 
T. Perkins, '77, Rev. Professor Jacob Streibert, 
Ph. D., '77, Colonel William M. Griffith, '80. 
Oliver A. Hess, '81, Rev. Charles L. Luther, '83, 
Edward M. Bassett, '84, Edmund J. Wager, '85, 
Frederick W. Griffith, '86, Professor Frank H. 
Robson, '87, Andrew H. Scott, '87, Rev. Frank 

B. Severance, '87, Rev. Carl W. Scovel, '88, Rev. 
Professor William H. Squires, '88, Professor Edgar 

C. Morris, '89, Librarian Melvin G. Dodge, '90, 
Principal Thomas E. Hayden, '91, Professor William 
P. Shepard, Ph. D., '92, Charles W. Disbrow, '93, 
Cornelius J. Gibson, '94, Arthur B. Mitchell, '95, 
George E. Stone, '95, Frank P. Knowlton, '96, 
Arthur D. Scovel, '96, Harry B. Ward, '96, Albert 
W. Boesche, 97, Charles E. Keck, '97, James B. 
Turnbull, '97, Charles G. Empie, '98, Thomas C. 
Gifford, '98, Robert B. Searle, '98, Byron E. 



Semi-centennial 



5 



Turnbull, '98, Henry White, 98, Isaac L. Best, 
'99, Fred A. Gates, '99, Fred R. Keck, '99, 
Charles L. Mosher, '99, Hugh K. Moulton, '99, 
Robert P. Ostrander, '99, Joseph E. Carmichael, 
'00, Charles R. Clark, 00, Edward J. Graham, '00, 
Kenneth G. Henry, '00, Friend M. M. Hull, '00, 
Edwin C. Hawley, '01, Ralph C. Hawley, '01, 
Augustus H. Shearer, Rutgers 'gg, Henry C. Emm, 
Syracuse 'g8. 

At the Chapter House, at 8 130, the Fraternity was 
called to order by Professor William H. Squires of 
the College. Albert W. Boesche, valedictorian of 
'97, delivered the address of welcome. He said : 

" Dear brothers of Delta Upsilon : Few be my 
words of welcome, for a hearty greeting does not 
need long words. Be assured that the active chapter 
of Delta Upsilon extends to you its hearty greeting. 
Be assured also that we appreciate the opportunity 
of meeting so many men who are our friends though 
we may never have met them before, and our broth- 
ers though we have never seen them. There can be 
nothing more impressing to us young men now in 
active work than to be offered the true hand of fel- 
lowship by those who can say that fifty years ago 
they looked down upon this beautiful Oriskany valley, 
being then young men as we are, and students as we 
are, and brothers in Delta Upsilon as we are. You 
are better able than we, gentlemen, to tell what those 
fifty years have meant, not only on this hillside or in 
this county, but in the world. But though they have 
been fifty years of change, one thing has not changed 
and that is the friendship and love of our fraternity. 

This Chapter House, standing as a fitting memorial 
of your kindness and generosity, shall ever stand open 



6 Delta IHpsilon 

to you as it does to-day, whenever you come back to 
greet again your staunch old ahna mater and to renew 
your pledges to Delta U. We bid you hearty 
greeting. " 

Henry C. Kingsbury responded : "In behalf of the 
friends of this institution and of other graduates of 
Hamilton College, I return sincere thanks for the joy- 
ous greeting we have received this morning. I had 
supposed that my response was to be made for the 
founders of this fraternity, and that 1 was chosen as a 
sort of conneding link (not Darwinian). I trust to 
respond for them, owing to their age and inability 
to speak for themselves, their appreciation of this 
welcome by those who are still in the harness. 
But I find that I am expected on behalf of all the 
graduates of Hamilton College who are members of 
Delta Upsilon, to voice for them their thanks for this 
greeting. I am glad to see so many young men 
who appreciate the opportunities v/hich are offered 
to them by Hamilton College, and who have not 
been drawn away by institutions which partake in 
great degree of the character of a department store 
where anything can be obtained, and where people 
flock as sometimes ladies do when a sweeping 
redu6lion is made on an article from $5.00 to $4.99. 
The fear is that these institutions will wipe out 
the smaller colleges and schools, unless parents 
and teachers and friends unite their efforts to 
sustain and support their alma mater. It is a 
well-known fact that Hamilton College has sent 
from its walls many and many a man who has 
made his mark in the world ; many a man who has 
not only been a social, political, and religious success; 
but many a man who has been useful in the quiet of 



Semis=Ccntennlal 7 

his own community, and made a name among his 
immediate fellow citizens. 1 trust that the 
day will be far distant when the number in attend- 
ance will be seriously diminished. I had hoped that 
at the end of nearly fifty years since my gradua- 
tion there would be a class that would exceed the 
class of '49, but the triennial catalogue has failed to 
disclose any more than were in that class. " 

Rev. Dr. Milton Waldo, the venerable first pres- 
ident of the fraternity, was then installed as president 
of the day. Ira W. Allen, LL. D., was installed 
as first vice-president. They were greeted with 
cheers. The Ode to Delia U. was then sung ; after 
which Rev. Richard G. Keyes read a paper on 
The Founders and the Fraternity, which he 
purported to have written fifty years ago. 

He said : 'Mn the spring term of 1847 the subje6l 
was agitated among the neutrals of forming an anti- 
secret society similar to the one in Williams College. 
But one meeting was held, and that at Mrs. Powell's. 
Word was passed around very cautiously to certain 
ones whom we wanted for the organization. After 
dark we stole quietly down to the place appointed. 
Sixteen were found to be present ; one more than 
most of us had anticipated. Robbins was the 
fellow. But we found upon inquiry of some of our 
number who knew him that he was true blue, and 
could be trusted. Before the vote to organize there 
was an animated discussion as to whether our 
meetings should be secret. It was decided in the 
negative. The constitution of the fraternity at 
Williams College was substantially adopted, and 
Adams, a nephew of old Dr. Adams of Syracuse, was 
seleded to 2:0 over to Williams, confer with the 



8 2)elta TUpgilon 

fraternity there, and procure badges similar to theirs. 
Sixteen were sent on to Clinton with the names of 
the owners engraved upon them. Thursday, 
September i6, 1847, ten of our fellows 'swung out" 
and put on their badges. The remaining six did so 
shortly afterward. There were therefore sixteen 
charter members. 

Very nearly every one of us had been urged to 
join one or more of the secret societies : some of us 
had been asked to join three out of the four. Our 
members were the very best among the neutrals. 
It had come to be well understood who among the 
neutrals were trying to get into the secret societies. 
They were called ' Bootlicks. " Some of the neutrals 
had, a year or so before, made an effort to form a 
secret society. We invited not one of either class 
to join us. We wished no members to whom the 
other societies could point and say , ' Aha ! They 
tried to join us, and couldn't ! " We did not care 
to be a ' Botany bay ' society, but true fellows to 
the marrow bone. 

Very few new members were ele6led in the fall 
term of 1847. About the first of November of that 
term there was a disgraceful row. President North was 
thrown down. It was at the Sophomore ' Bonfire. ' 
How indignant the better class of fellows were, 
though. Not a single one of our fellows was 

engaged in it. I went out in disguise. Several laid 
hold of me ; concluded it was Ed. Orton, and so 
reported the next day. I thus found out many of 
those engaged in the ' Bonfire. ' Two gallons 
of liquor were brought on to the Hill that night. 

In November, 1847, Mr. Waldo was sent to a 
convention, at Troy, of delegates from the different 



Semi-centennial 9 

colleges. They adopted a common constitution, 
but could not agree upon a common name and 
badge. " 

About half an hour was spent in pleasant social 
converse, and the younger members sang college 
songs. 

At 9 : 30 the men formed in procession, and 
marched to the residence of Professor Edward North. 
As the venerable professor appeared at the door he 
was given three hearty cheers. He said : "Will you 
not come in, boys.^" 

President Waldo said : "A fev/ of our boys came 
to say good morning. We wish to say that we love 
and respect you. A few of us coming back here after 
half a century find you the only living representative 
of the old faculty. We remember how much you did 
for us, how faithful and patient you were. It is a 
pleasure for us to know that you have sustained the 
department of Greek for half a century as it has been 
sustained in no other institution. It is solid and 
strong, and there is no prospect of its going down. 
We would feel it an honor to take your hand. May 
God bless you, dear professor, and keep you, and 
make your heart rejoice." 

Dr. North: "Your kind words go to a grateful 
heart. 1 remember you all. I remember your faces, 
and I remember your voices when I hear them. May 
I give you a conundrum this morning ^ " 

A Voice : " Give it in Greek. " 

Dr. North : "Why is the Delta Upsilon Fraternity 
like a woman ?" 

One of the boys : " Because she is lovely r' " 

Dr. North : "So far so good. " 

Another : " Because she can't keep a secret.^" 



lo Delta "Clpsilon 

Dr. North : "One reason more. " 

K. S. Putnam : "Because you seem to like both 
pretty well. " 

Dr. North : 'i will tell you v/hy. The Delta Upsilon 
Fraternity understates its age this morning. I will 
explain it to you. Fifty-seven years ago 1 attended a 
meeting of students in the Senior class-room where 
speeches were made by Henry Kendall, Henry A. 
Nelson, and possibly by L. Merrill Miller ; and in 
the speeches made at this meeting it was claimed that 
if there is any good in college fraternities, it ought to 
be more widely diffused. The good seed planted at 
that time was planted so deep that it took seven years 
to come up to the sunlight. Since then Delta U. has 
made wholesome, substantial progress in whatever 
promotes scholarship, character and achievement in 
life. It will go on doing its best for high scholarship, 
for solid character, and for grand achievement in life. 
You see this elm tree ? It was planted just fifty years 
ago and is a good emblem of the Delta U. Fraternity. 
May its shadow never grow less." 

Then came the handshaking process. It seemed 
like a procession of the years, each one announcing 
his class number as he shook the hand of the venerable 
professor. It did the visitors good to be remembered 
and called by name, and to receive again the old 
cordial greeting. It brought back the morning of life 
to many, and there was perhaps something of the 
dew of the morning in more than one pair of eyes. 
Each expressed some kindly wish. " You have lived 
to bless our children. May you live to bless our 
grandchildren, " said one. 

Next the procession proceeded to the College 
Campus. At the Library it was welcomed by 



Semi-centennial 1 1 

Professor William R. Terrett of the faculty. He 
said : 

"I feel very highly the honor that has been 
conferred upon me in being invited by those v/ho 
have charge of the arrangements to assist in extending 
to the brethren of this society a very hearty welcome 
to the hospitalities of Hamilton College. 1 am not 
myself a member of this society, yet it has seemed to 
me that there was a slight bond of connection in the 
fact that I am a graduate of Williams College where 
your society had its origin in 1834. Is it not true that 
v/e may together look upon Williams College as our 
alma mater, saying that in a sense she is the mother 
of us all ? 

Occupying the position that I do in Hamilton College 
1 feel it my duty to preserve a strict neutrality betv/een 
all of the societies. I feel like the guest at a hotel 
table who, when asked whether he would take white- 
fish or bluefish, replied that it made no difference as 
he was color-blind. So far as these various societies 
are concerned it is my duty to be impartial and color- 
blind. But there is no impropriety in recognizing 
that the history of this society and of the men you call 
brothers, is a very large and distinguished part of the 
history of Hamilton College. A society that has sent 
out scholars like Albert Barnes and Dr. May- 
NARD ; such illustrious preachers as Arthur T. 
PiERSON and B. Fay Mills whose eloquence has been 
heard on more than one continent ; such distin- 
guished lawyers as Francis M. Burdick and Oliver 
E. Branch ; teachers like Mattoon M. Curtis ; 
physicians like Dr. Talcott — I need not name 
them all — they have conferred honor on the 
college as well as on the society. Then there 



12 I)elta IHpsilon 

are your society undergraduates. You honored 
the college in Mr. Boesche last evening. The valedic- 
torian and one of the salutatorians of '97 wear your 
pin and belong to your brotherhood. Nor should I 
fail to say that we are under great obligations for 
Professor Shepard and Professor Dodge, both young 
men who have already won their spurs. Professor 
Squires is also a young man. No member of the 
faculty is more beloved by the students, or exercises a 
larger influence for good on this hilltop. A man of 
open and progressive mind who learned more of 
psychology from his own baby in two years than 
from all his reading in ten years. 

Standing on the steps of this building and within 
sight of these workrooms, it is proper that I should 
say that among the officers of the college there is 
none more honored or trusted than the librarian. 
Professor Dodge. Some men work like a whirlwind 
and some like the sunshine. He belongs to the latter 
class. He is a very modest man, but whatever work 
is given him to do is done with the utmost faithful- 
ness. As a result almost all the work of the college 
is given him to do. A member of the faculty, libra- 
rian, and a most efficient treasurer of the athletic 
association, he has something to do with everything 
on College Hill. There are men who can be trusted 
absolutely. Professor Dodge is one of those men. 
Whosever place is deserted, his place will be filled. 
Whosever work is neglected, his work will be 
done. 

Once more let me extend to you a cordial welcome to 
all the festivities of this place and to all the hospitalities 
of the college. Washington was once visiting at the 
home of Roger Sherman, whose daughter, then a very 



SemissCentcnnlal 13 

little girl, afterward became the mother of William M. 
EvARTs. Washington rose to go and the little girl 
opened the door for him. Washington said : ' You 
are worthy of a more honorable office than to let me 
out. ' She replied : ' Yes sir, to let you in. ' It is 
a distinguished honor that I am permitted to be one 
of those who let you in. " 

Rev. Yates Hickey responded. He said : 
" 1 am very glad to come here through the door by 
which we came. It is a wonderful honor to us back 
numbers, who don't feel old except when we look in- 
to a glass. Some of us are seventy years young. It is 
a pleasure to listen to such words as were spoken 
by Dr. North and yourself. It is a great honor, of 
which I am unworthy, to be called on to respond. 
There is a dew, an atmosphere, that is simply glorious. 
How beautiful! A benediction is descending on us. 
Dr. North said that this organization stood for 
scholarship, character, and accomplishment. If I 
were going to phrase it, I would not be so beautiful. 
He told us that we were founded seven years before 
we claimed we were. 1 would have said that we 
stood for broadness, solidity, and effectiveness, so 
far as my observation goes. 

I will not take time for a speech. That isn't in my 
line. I buttonhole people and know them all in five 
minutes. '1 have been fighting literature, not of the 
good kind, for thirty-five years. If I had been asked 
to speak at the Observatory, I should have said what 
I gathered from Professor Mitchell at Cincinnati 
some years ago. In looking through his telescope 
he saw boys stealing apples on a hillside seven miles 
away. He who made the eye and enabled it to see 
can see much farther than we. What is a plotter 



14 2)elta IHpsilon 

worth as against a counterplotter ? You can counter- 
plot. If we will seek first the Kingdom of God and 
his righteousness, He will add the other things to us. 
Be broad, thorough, solid, and effective, and always 
depend on Him." 

Next the visitors called at the Biological Laboratory 
where they were welcomed by Professor A. D. 
?vloRRiLL, who said : 

"We have to thank Mr. Powell for the inception of 
this laboratory, its arrangement, and many suggestions 
for its progress. If it had not been for him, I am sure 
there would have been none at this time. If it had not 
been for the opportunity to start a biological laboratory, 
1 should not have come. This is the first year of a 
separate department in biology. Chemistry was given 
to Professor Higbee. Next year we will be on the third 
floor of the new building. You will notice we have 
a very good light here and that from one side only. 
That is something we will say good-by to in the new 
building. This is a good room to work in and gives 
us the best light. " 

James F. Converse responded. He said : 

" I feel as a certain general did when sent out by 
President Lincoln to execute a commission. On his 
return the President said : ' Report, general. Tell 
us all you know. It won't take but one minute. ' 
I am in that condition. I differ from most of you in 
that I have been a farmer for fifty years and have 
wandered among the fields and among the herds of 
this and other States. It affords me pleasure to be 
present and join with you in this festival and its 
enjoyment. In behalf of the class of '48 I tender you 
our thanks. We shall remember it for the remainder 
of our years. We hope that when you are called to 



SemisCcntennf al 1 5 

celebrate the centennial, we may still be with you, 
young as we are to-day. " 

At the Soper Gymnasium the visitors were wel- 
comed by Professor Oren Root. He said : 

" Brethren in Delta U. I use that term advisedly. 
I have been asked to welcome you at this gymnasium. 
1 am trying to teach mathematics. It is perhaps 
appropriate that 1 should talk to you from the gym- 
nasium. My college recollections go back to 1846. 
With the wide-open eyes of a boy I saw the keys 
blazing like the shield of Achilles with the 'S. F.' and 
later with the 'A. S. C, ' and by and by Beard, 
Stebbins, and Erdman of the class of '56, and others of 
'55 wore badges of the Delta Sigma. 1 can recall the 
struggle for existence that always belongs to new 
institutions. The gestation and generation of events 
everywhere is in pain and travail. It belongs to our 
humanity. Truth, scope, results come in sorrow to 
man, and so they came to you. I can recollect that 
there was something for you to endure because you 
were striving for new things. 

i have warred and waited since those days, but it 
has kept my eyes open to the noticing of other 
things. It was a source of satisfaction that the class 
of '56 had no riotous disputes. We were not always 
of one thought, but always accepted the verdict of the 
majority. When we had been for twenty-five years 
out of college, there came one of those tender and 
delicate things that makes us believe in humanity. 
I received a letter from one of the class who was a 
home missionary in western Wisconsin. He had 
been able, industrious, had worked hard and gathered 
little. There was a tone of sadness in his letter. His 
oldest boy was ready for college but could not come. 



1 6 2)clta 'dpsilon 

When the boys gathered under the elms at my place, 
I said : * Can we do a better thing than to see that 
his boy goes through Hamilton College?" They 
asked: 'What will it cost ?' I said that the college 
would give him his scholarship, and that it would cost 
him $150. a year for board. Pledges were made, 
but the amount was not sufficient. As we broke up, 
one of your Delta U. fellows came to me and said : 
' You gather what you can, and whatever is lacking, 
I will stand back of. ' He did it, and it cost him twice 
as much as any one else. The boy"s father was not 
a Delta U., but it made not a particle of difference. 
I have found in forty years that there are brotherhoods 
much broader and deeper than those we denote by 
any badges and call by any name. Outside is the 
brotherhood of the college. There is also the brother- 
hood of learning. Another brotherhood is that under 
the flag. In the same way the brotherhood of Amer- 
ican living, and the crowning brotherhood of our 
American character, are to be formed by the work of 
just such old boys as you, and just such young boys 
as are our college trustees. Deeper than that is the 
brotherhood of our humanity. There will come a 
time when the Senate of the United States will not 
dare to reject an arbitration treaty between two of the 
greatest nations of the world. There is coming a 
time when the song of the poet of the 

' Parliament of man, the Federation of the world ' 

will be a truth. 

For more than forty years I have known and loved 
those who wore the key and the badge. I have 
realized that you have a place to fill and have filled 
it ; that you have done a good work. Because of 
all these things I am glad to welcome you to the 
gymnasium. " 



SemisCentennfal 17 

Joseph C. Ford responded. He said : 

"Professor Root: In behalf of the members of 
Delta Upsilon here present, I thank you for your 
cordial welcome. Many of us are here, after an 
absence of nearly half a century, and we feel that we 
are in our old home again. Excuse the seeming 
rudeness, when 1 say that we hardly needed your 
welcome. We did not need to be told that our ' fair 
mother,' after this long absence, would be glad to see 
the old boys again ; and that the latch-string alv/ays 
hangs outside for them. You, Sir, if you were here 
at all in our college days, must have been mewling in 
your nurse's arms. While it is gracious for you thus 
to receive us, we should have come anyway. 

We can see our mother's kindly smile and her 
outstretched arms. We reciprocate her greeting with 
all our hearts. She has grown older since we left 
her. Her hair is streaked with silver, but it is 
becoming. She grows more beautiful as she grows 
in years. 

As we look about these college grounds, we are 
impressed with the changes time has made. North 
College, the College Chapel, Middle and South 
College buildings indeed are still as they were when 
we were here. This hill on which the college is 
situated is still here. The valley of the Mohav/k and 
the blue hills beyond are still where they were when 
we occupied these dormitories; sat in these windows, 
and gazed on the scene, and dreamed as young men 
will. But all else how changed. There was then no 
beautiful Library building, no Observatory, no Hall 
of Languages, no Gymnasium. The old fence in 
front of the college buildings, with the row of stately 
poplars, under which it crept, are gone. The 



i8 Delta lapsllon 

grounds are greatly enlarged. These noble trees 
have grown since we were here. Much as we love 
the old home we realize that it is greatly improved, 
and made more beautiful. 

But where are our old professors, and our courtly 
president, Simeon North ? Most of them sleep in 
yonder cemetery. One alone, our loved Professor 
North, remains, the sole link connecting with the 
past. When we were here the old college curriculum 
prevailed as in all the colleges of the land. Math- 
ematics, the classics, logic, and moral philosophy 
formed the staple with rhetoric and elocution thrown 
in to round up, and give a touch of grace to the 
whole. Since then the great universities have 
grown up all about us with their rich endowments, 
and under the influence of the naturalistic spirit 
prevailing, are teaching anything but education. 
These institutions have overshadowed Hamilton, but 
we are glad to say, they have not deflected her from 
her old course. She still clings to the idea that 
education is more important than learning, and that 
charader is more important than either. She might 
well place on her front door the legend I once saw on 
the front of a schoolhouse in the West : 'Education 
teached here.' 

The boys that were here with us as a rule were not 
sons of rich parents. They for the most part had to 
work their way through college. They had little 
need of a gymnasium. They made their way by 
working during vacations, or taking a term or two 
out to teach, and so get means to farther prosecute 
their studies. These boys, you may be sure, appreci- 
ated the training Hamilton College gave her students, 
and as a rule she need not be ashamed to compare 



SemltfCentenntal 



19 



her produft with that of other colleges. 

But I must not talk longer. Be assured the 
members of this association — as I believe may be 
said of Hamilton graduates everywhere — cherish an 
affectionate memory for their alma mater, and will 
always be ready to defend her honor and fair fame. 

May she flourish in perpetual youth, and may this 
noble site she occupies be typical of her commanding 
influence throughout our country. " 

The members of the Fraternity then entered the 
College Chapel and attended the general meeting of 
the alumni. 




SEMI-CENTENNIAL ODE 

Arr. from ' Watch on the Rhine. 
Once more our pledges we renew ; 
Once more our pleasures we review ; 
Dear Delta U., Dear Delta U., 
To thee we ever will be true. 

We come to pay what here we owe 
Since half a hundred years ago ; 
Dear Delta U., Dear Delta U., 
To thee we ever will be true. 

You met us when we needed you ; 
You taught us to ourselves be true ; 
Dear Delta U., Dear Delta U., 
To thee we ever will be true. 

Chorm. 
Dear Delta, Delta, Delta U., 
Hurrah ! Hurrah ! for Delta U. 
We'll rise and sing for Delta U.; 
We'll work and live for Delta U. 

E. P. Powell. 




THE BANQUET 



^P^^ HE banquet, prepared by a committee of 
^B^k ladies of whom Mrs. C. W. Hawley was 
^ I ■ chairman, was served in a large tent near 
^^Jx the Chapter House at one o'clock in the 
afternoon. At the conclusion of the feast Rev. E. P. 
Powell of the committee of arrangements said: "The 
purpose of the committe of arrangements has been 
not to call out the undoubted eloquence of a few, or 
their wisdom and wit, but to give us a chance to hear 
the voices of just as many as possible and so get 
acquainted. There is not a speaker ofi the program 
whom we would not be glad to hear for half an hour; 
but every one will be expeded to rigidly respeft his 
brother's privilege and not trespass upon his time 
even with apples of gold in piftures of silver." 

The president of the day, Rev. Milton Waldo, 
presided as toastmaster. 

Rev. Hiram E. Johnson responded to the toast: 
184^ to iSgj. 'We span the years with love.' He 
said : " What can a man say in four minutes on such 
a subje(5l } There are three things that endure — faith, 
hope, and love, and the greatest of these is love. 
That is a big theme, but one that fills our hearts with 



22 Delta IHpsilon 

thanksgiving today. This society was founded on 
that principle, true manliness and benevolence and 
love. We felt in the college that something was 
lacking, something that would give greater success to 
the college. There were Christian young men coming 
to the college. Under the influence of other societies 
they did not hold out as Christians. Many were 
backsliders. We felt as if we must do something to 
save them and to give them ambition in scholarship. 
The society was formed with the idea of putting 
about them all the good influences without any of the 
detrimental ones. To this it has held to the present 
day. This society in its life has had a good influence 
on other societies. They are not as they were 
when we were in college. They are a better class 
with a higher standard of morality. It is through the 
influence of this fraternity that this is so. Let these 
principles abide. We will always cherish this day in 
memory. May the principle of love ever abide 
among you." 

Rev. Dr. Henry Ward responded to the toast : 
i8gy to i84y. 'God bless our founders.' He said : 
"Just a word in regard to that line on the program, 
•God bless our founders.' They don't need any 
blessing. Blest in the doing ; blest in the deed. I 
recall that President Hopkins of Williams College in 
his work on mioral science says, the guide of human 
condud should hardly be duty. As I recall it he said: 
' It should neither be righteousness nor joy, happiness 
nor duty. It should be blessedness.' It is not 
hydrogen or oxygen alone, but H. O. that constitutes 
water. Blessedness constitutes the aim. What 
could be greater blessedness than to have founded 
such a fraternity t Why is there a general judgment 



SemtsCentennial 



23 



at the last day, and why is not judgment pronounced 
as we go ? The books can not be made up till the 
last day. St. Paul is accomplishing more in the 
nineteenth than he did in any preceding century. 
These founders may go on another fifty years and 
another hundred years, and yet the real blessed- 
ness that flows from what they do will not fmd 
fulness of record." 

Rev. Dr. Luther A. Ostrander responded to the 
toast : Delta Upsilon. ' Founded for honor and based 
on character.' He said : "All have been speaking 
on that all day. We heard much in the Chapel in the 
paper of the annalist of the good old days. The 
days are better now than they were then. College 
life is much better than it was fifty years ago, or when 
1 was in college. I rejoice that it is so. Our boys 
ought to improve. The world is improving and very 
much is to be credited to the beneficent influence 
of the Delta Upsilon Fraternity. It has sought to make 
a man well-rounded not only mentally, but physically 
and especially spiritually. This is honor of the 
highest kind based on truth. Many obtain honors 
who have not honor. The founder of Robert College 
had few honors, but great honor. He was among 
the uncrov/ned nobles. 

It has been for the members of Delta U. to merit 
honor whether they receive it or not ; to have 
righteousness, truth, and be manly men. I received 
a letter from Mr. Bates recently who wrote that he 
was preparing a statement in regard to those entitled 
to receive the Lord's supper. The statement read : 
* Those who give satisfactory evidence of being in a 
state of salvation.' The printer set it up: 'Those 
who give satisfactory evidence of being in a state of 



24 2>elta IHpstlon 

starvation.' He knew better. Some of our mistakes 
come in that way and are easily correded. Some 
need not be corrected. I come from a region of 
Germans. Germans are not without honor here. 
Our valediftorian is a German. Some try to speak 
English and can not. Not long since one of them 
read : 'All liars shall be cast into the burning lake.' 
He read it : ' All lawyers . . . ' Some one called his 
attention to the mistakes but he said it was so slight 
that it did not need correcting. 

This society has been successful in developing the 
noble part of Christian manhood. We have a tree 
here that bears fruit every year, the fruit of noble 
Christian charader." 

The speaker read from a report made by the Hamil- 
ton Chapter to a convention held in Williamstown in 
1857: " 'Scholarship two-tenths higher than any 
other society. Morality and religion are practiced 
among us. In our society resides the moral power 
of Hamilton College.' That is true today. Morality 
is not only believed in, but practiced. This is the 
fruit that the tree is bringing forth. God bless it." 

Frederick W. Griffith responded to the toast : 
Our Lodge — Our Home, He said : "I love this 
Delta U. Fraternity. I left yesterday morning my 
wife and two little boys in Wayne county. My 
mother is long since in heaven. Next to these comes 
my love for this fraternity. No man can be a member 
of this fraternity without being very much benefited. 
If there is a spark of humanity in him it will be a 
large flame before he graduates. I can not see any 
hard faces here or any on which are written lines of 
sin. My lodge for four years in Hamilton College was 
up four flights of stairs. To carry up a pail of water, 



Scmi*slentennlal 25 

and in a dark night we had to grope our way. It 
was not policy for one of the Delta U.'s to be a 
drunkard, in those dark stairways. We had to carry 
coal up three flights of stairs, or pay the equivalent, and 
sweep our own rooms. Now when we come to the 
lodge rooms it seems almost like heaven. Yet I could 
not give up the rooms in old South College. I know 
that this college will graduate many youths who will 
be polished and greatly benefited by this fraternity." 

Rev. Carl W. Scovel responded to the toast : 
The Other Societies. ' May we be friends and brothers. ' 
He said : 

** Those of you who were here last year will re- 
member the discussion of the plans for this half- 
century occasion. We now see these plans more 
than carried out. There have been others, but the 
great pilot of this celebration has been E. P. Powell ; 
and his faithful assistant to catch every suggestion 
and carry it out was Melvin Dodge. I would like 
to have Mr. Boesche and the other boys lead us in 
the German cheer." 

Mr. Boesche led in the cheer: **Die brueder 
E. P. Powell und Melvin Dodge ; Sie leben — Hochf 
Und noch ein mal — Hoch ! Und zum dritten mal — 
HOCH ! Hoch soll'n sie leben; Hoch soH'n sie leben; 
Drei mal Hoch ! " The company joined in the *hoch' 
each time. 

Mr. Scovel continuing, said: *M look back to 
the days when the society was founded. Delta U. 
has always stood for outspoken, frank manliness ; no 
furbelows at all. Our wives know all our secrets. 
We have started with a motto and it has been adhered 
to. What we stand for is true manly character, and 
this has been so assimilated that we have no need for 



26 2)clta IHpsilon 

antagonism. We stand as brother v/ith brother toward 
the other fraternities. The secrets amount to almost 
nothing at all. We stand for the same purposes 
today. In the port of Stamboul, Turkey, the Turks 
operate a pile-driver which drives piles into the depths 
of the Golden Horn. Each is required to pull his 
special rope at the same time with all the others, and 
all let go at the same time. We stand as friends of 
the other fraternities working hand in hand for all that 
is good. Whenever there is anything good for the 
college, we work hand in hand with the others. 
Whenever it is necessary to drive a pile for sure foun- 
dation for truth, let each and every man pull his rope 
and all let go together." 

The company sang Vive la 'Delta U. with great 
heartiness. 

Ira W. Allen, LL.D., responded to the- toast : 
Laurentine Hamilton, Our First Valedictorian. * Six 
feet three, and every inch a man.' He said : 

''Mr. President and Brethren in Delta U. : On 
this fiftieth anniversary of the founding of Delta U. 
in Hamilton College, and the fiftieth anniversary of my 
entrance into Hamilton, I deem myself fortunate to be 
invited to say a few words on so important an oc- 
casion and so suggestive a theme ; for it suggests 
two short but very important words, * Choice and 
Service,' which, according to Mark Hopkins, consti- 
tute the whole of life. Choice and Service are all 
that Jehovah demanded of the children of Israel, and 
all he demands of each one of us. 

It was a happy choice of Laurentine Hamilton 
when, twenty-one years of age, he withdrew from 
home cares and the demands of an unappreciative 
father, and decided to have a college education and 



SemlsCentennfal 27 

to have it in Hamilton College. His preparation was 
rapid and thorough, and in the autumn of 1847 he en- 
tered the class of '50 at the time of my matriculation; 
and so we were members of the same class for three 
years, meeting each other daily, and the better I knew 
him the more I admired him. His college course was 
most praiseworthy. He was an accurate student, a 
hater of all shams, a high-minded Christian man. He 
carried off the highest class honor — the valedictory. 

Some of you, now present after the lapse of fifty 
years, remember him, tall, lank, bony, 'six feet three,' 
and hence commanding in person ; of earnest, vigor- 
ous mind and glowing soul ; ambitious to be some- 
body in the world, somebody in the service of his 
Master, a coworker with God. 

After his graduation he took the full three years' 
course in Auburn Theological Seminary, and after his 
ordination was pastor for two years of the Presbyte- 
rian church in Ovid, N. Y. He then removed to Cali- 
fornia, where for many years he was a great power 
for good — a star of the first magnitude, illuminating 
the whole Pacific slope. His power of * choice ' there- 
fore was most commendable, and his * service ' past 
human computation. Fifteen years ago he heard the 
words. Well done, good and faithful servant,' 'come 
up higher.' 

Some of you remember Alfred Martin Stowe, 
bright, cheerful, gracious, courtly, winning, always 
beaming with Christian hope and joy; always stimu- 
lating ahd helpful. He, too, ripe and full of years, 
has been called up higher. 

You remember the Clevelands and other early 
members and founders of Delta U. ; faithful Christian 
young men they were, of noble purposes and high 



28 2)elta lUpBUon 

ideals! They too have graduated from earth and 
entered the higher life. What shall we say of the 
' choice ' of these young men in entering Hamilton 
College, in becoming members of Delta U., in 
striving for a higher and nobler Christian life, as did 
Paul in apostolic tim.es ? Was it not most praise- 
worthy? May I not say 'thrice happy choice;' for 
by such choice, and the resulting service, three have 
been blessed — the college, the fraternity, and the 
world. Think of the influence of these noble souls 
and their brothers in Delta U. while here in college ; 
always on the side of good order, of strift obedience 
to college rules; always planning for something 
higher and nobler. Did you ever know a member 
of Delta U. to vote to break college laws, or do 
anything low, or mean, or wrong.? Never, 1 am 
sure, in those early days of the fraternity, and I hope 
never in more recent times. 

Think of the influence of these noble Christian men 
since their graduation ! What unselfish consecration 
of their lives to the best interests of humanity. 

May I not say then, thrice happy choice that led 
their feet, and our feet, to this sacred hill, crowned 
with this temple of Christian learning ? 

This is holy ground ; for has it not been consecrated 
for more than one hundred years by the earnest 
prayers of God's eledl ? Have not the fervent, effeftual 
prayers of the righteous gone up weekly, daily, 
hourly for Heaven's blessing on this seminary of 
Christian learning ? I repeat, this is holy ground ; 
none more holy, unless it be the holy city where 
Jesus lived and labored ; unless it be Calvary with 
its uplifted Cross ! For have not the feet of Kirkland, 
of Hamilton, of Stowe, and of hundreds of other 



SemisCentennial 29 

devoted Christians trodden this hill ? 

God bless the dear old college on the hill! May its 
light grow brighter and brighter and these memories 
sweeter and sweeter as the years roll on. God 
bless Delta U. now and forever ! " 

Mr. Albert W. Boesche responded to the toast : 
Our Latest Valedictorian. ' Five feet ten, but grow- 
ing.' He said : 

" Brevity is the soul of wit. I thank you for the 
kindly call." 

Rev. Dr. Linus M. Miller responded to the toast : 
Hamilton College Presidents. *A Proud Roll.' He 
said : 

"I very highly appreciate the honor that was 
conferred upon my two classmates and myself in 
making us honorary members of this valuable fra- 
ternity. Kendall, Nelson, and myself were seated 
side by side in the class-room of '40. We were 
fortunate in being placed together among your num- 
ber as well as in other positions in public life. We 
early became members of the literary societies of the 
college. Many is the time we saw the boys, members 
of the two secret societies and the antisecret students, 
all ready for a fight. We stood aside and looked on. 
While our sympathies were with you we took no part 
in the collisions. 

I am glad to be with you today. The first real 
acquaintance I had with Dr. Azel Backus began 
early through his family in Rochester. He was 
president in 1812. Dr. Stryker is the ninth pres- 
ident. The eight who preceded him have all died. 
They all rejoiced in the work of the finished redemp- 
tion. Backus had a sainted wife. Mrs. Backus used 
to talk to me a good deal about her husband and the 



30 Delta "Ulpsllon 

college. We had a large revival meeting in the First 
Presbyterian church in Rochester. The walls of the 
church were pressed out by the crowd and an immense 
scantling falling into the ceiling hung over their heads. 
Mrs. Backus was quite near one of the windows. 
She opened it and out of it they rushed. She said : 
'How the sheep go.' Like her husband she saw 
the humor of everything. He died after a four years' 
presidency. Then came Dr. Davis who lived on the 
west side of College Hill many years after his presi- 
dency of sixteen years. Dr. Davis was invited to be 
president of Yale College at the same time he was 
invited to the head of this institution. 

Sereno Dwight followed him as president for 
eighteen months. Then began the great fight between 
the Utica people and the people on the Hill. That 
sent Dr. Dwight away. 

I came here under the new regime of Dr. Penny, 
the fourth president. He was not a vigorous man 
physically, but he was strong mentally and spiritually. 
Then was eleded Dr. Simeon North, and for two 
years I had the privilege of being at his house and 
at the same table with him. He was a true Christian 
gentleman as well as learned in all the arts and 
classics of college life. All our presidents have had 
many qualifications that commended them to their 
position. But every man was not adapted to rule 
boys. I remember Dr. Samuel Ware Fisher. He 
called me into his room one day. As he was walking 
back and forth he said : ' Miller, I can't rule boys. 
I don't understand them. That's my only trouble.' 
The trustees tried to help him but failed. He re- 
signed. 

After him in later years came Dr. Brown, a 



Semis=vlentennial 31 

graduate of Brown University, who had previously 
been invited to Middlebury. He was a finely 
educated man, but he was not so fortunate in getting 
along with the boys. He resigned, and then came 
Dr. Darling, a Christian gentleman, who was very 
successful, and who would have had greater success 
if he had been permitted to live. Then came for a 
year and a half Dr. North, 'the Greek'; and last came 
the noble president you have today. May he abide with 
you long. Most of these presidents were graduates of 
Yale. Dr. Stryker, so well filling this position with 
all his heart and soul, is a graduate of Hamilton. 

We are the thirty-seventh college in these United 
States of nearly one hundred and fifty colleges. No col- 
lege of the thirty-six before it or any after it, can show 
a brighter record of Christian noblemen than these 
college presidents. " 

Rev. Frank B. Severance responded to the toast : 
Old Greek. ' May he live forever.' He said : 

'*! feel that 1 ought to be on this occasion a vale- 
didorian, and make a short speech and be relieved. 
The subje6t assigned me comes close home 
to me as it does to you all. What few words 
I may be able to say will not add anything, I am sure, 
to the pleasant memories that crowd upon the minds of 
those here gathered. * Old Greek ; may he live forever.' 
These lines come to me : ' We live in deeds, not 
years ; in thoughts, not words ; in feelings, not in 
figures on a dial.' 'Old Greek' is alive because of 
that truth, and 'Old Greek' must live because these 
lines are true. 

I shall ever remember my first impressions 
concerning Dr. North. He looked just as he looks 
today in his outward appearance ; only I looked 



32 Delta lapsllon 

today through eyes that have learned to love 
that venerable form. He came into Examination 
Hall. Having been unable to study for more than 
a year, I was not able to pass my entrance examina- 
tion in Homer. The good do6lor said : * You will 
read Homer at your leisure and report in a week or 
two.' Within a week 1 was called away from college. 
I was obliged to ask Dr. North to postpone the ex- 
amination, for I had had no time. He said : ' Well, 
when you do have time, come around.' The man 
from that time took a new place in my heart. 
Before, I had thought that if ' Old Greek ' should 
disappear from College Hill life would be far more 
pleasant. I had not exaftly hoped that he might die 
but I should have been delighted to have learned that 
he had been called to a belter position and that he had 
accepted. But after his life had touched mine all was 
changed. Tnere was a mysteriousness about the 
man. He laid hold of me. I look on him as on no 
other. He has been a father to me. He possesses 
those rare qualities which are necessary to make an 
educator. 

Some way Dr. North reached out to the boys. 
He fought a battle and won a vidory in each case, 
and you can not show me an alumnus of Hamilton 
who does not have a warm place in his heart for Dr. 
North. His soul is touched with an endowm.ent 
from on high that reveals to the individual student 
a sense of manhood. He has lived silently, touching 
here and there the individual life ; ready to do 
anything that would help the college, even to taking 
the presidency. He has the warmest place in our 
hearts and lives. 

'He most lives who feels most, 
Who acts noblest, who thinks best.' 



Semisvlentennial 



33 



That is what is in that character that has touched us. 
He teaches in a thousand different schools today ; and 
long after his body is laid on the hillside, his life will 
touch other lives . 

'Old Greek ; may he live forever.' Dr. North can 
never die because of his personality and his power to 
stamp himself on other souls. It is that characteristic 
that makes Dr. North sure of a long life, a life 
through all eternity." 

The company sang : Our Tiearly Beloved 'Delta U. 

Head Master Eliot R. Payson, Ph.D. responded to 
the toast : Thorough Scholarship. ' Every Delta U. 
should stand for it. ' He said : 

"Delta U. makes a mistake whenever it abandons 
the idea of scholarship. Morality is all very well, but 
without scholarship it is lame. Delta U. should be 
careful what members it takes in. They can not all 
be valedictorians, but never take a man who will be 
dropped from his class for lack of scholarship. If any 
chapter loses sight of that, it is not loyal. That 
scholarship for which Delta U. stands should not be of 
a narrow kind, but broad as well as thorough, which 
deals with social, economic, and political questions ; 
and which is ready to meet any heresy and anxious to 
smite it to the ground. We did that in New Jersey 
last fall. . 

How is such scholarship to be obtained .^ No 
machine for intelleftual development has been in- 
vented equal to a classical course. But it makes 
no difference how scholarship is obtained. For 
it Delta U. stands ; on it Delta U. stands ; and let 
us hope that the principle will never be cast aside 
by this chapter. I don't believe it ever will." 

Andrew H. Scott responded to the toast : 



34 5)elta "Clpsilon 

College Ideas and Ideas about College. He said : 

"I am neither lawyer, minister, nor life-insurance 
agent, and feel the disadvantages of my position. I 
regret I can not say to my associates at this table 
what Daniel said. When he was cast into the den 
he looked around and said : 'There is some comfort 
in this anyhow. After the feast there will be no 
speeches. ' When I came to college, the college 
ideas were class rows, pulling up sidewalks, and 
having a good time. Whether you coincide with my 
opinion or not, 1 believe I have covered the subject." 
Principal Thomas E. Hayden spoke on College 
athletics. 'It should be a part of the curriculum.' 
He said : 

'*1 failed to be a valedidorian. The athletics and the 
valedictories were not controlled by the faculty. 
Coordination was awaiting discovery by the Com- 
mittee of Ten. Left to myself, I did not secure honors 
in either department. 1 do not wish to stand in 
opposition to the idea that Delta U. is the cause 
of all the good in the last fifty years; but if there 
is any difference in the college it is that the ex- 
uberance of youth, the outpouring of the physical 
man is given expression, as God intended it, in 
athletics. It is because of this that boys are less 
liable to run astray. If I were a man of family 
I would not hesitate to risk my boy's limbs at 
football. It is a less risk than it was fifty years ago, 
going through dark streets, into back rooms, and 
having a headache in the morning. The college boys 
now have a legitimate opportunity of getting rid of 
superfluous vitality. The proper balancing of the 
mental with physical training will solve the educa- 
tional problem of the future. " 



Semis^lentennial 



35 



Rev. James F. Brodie spoke on Hamilton College, 
Third to be Founded in the State. 'It holds its rank in 
quality if not in quantity. ' He said : 

"It is singular that a man should be brought from 
the coast of Massachusetts to speak of a New York 
college. It may be on the principle that the further off 
the man, the better his judgment will be. I am the 
only representative of Hamilton College in a county of 
Massachusetts that has nearly half a million of popula- 
tion. A good many times the question arises: 'Where 
is Hamilton College.^ ' 'What.? Hamilton College.? 
Don't you know where it is } it's just a few miles 
from Deansville.' That is always unanswerable. 

I am glad to bring the approval of ' the salt water ' 
to Hamilton College, and to set that seal on it. Down 
there Delta U. is considerably larger than Hamilton 
College. For the matter of college fellowships, I am 
dependent on that rather than on the other." 

Colonel William M. Griffith, Governor Black's sec- 
retary, responded to the toast : New York State. 
' May its educational system be second to none.' He 
said : 

"When I was told that I was to cover New York 
State in four minutes, I thought I would have to 
make better time than the Empire State express. I 
wish I had the power as a condenser of Charles A. 
Dana. When I remembered that we have spent 
$23,000,000 in erecting the capitol, which is not yet 
completed ; when I recalled that we are spending 
$5,000,000 a year in taking care of the insane, none 
of whom are Delta U.'s; and when I recalled that 
the State is spending $27,000,000 a year for the edu- 
cation of its youth, I made up my mind to stretch out 
into forty minutes. You can do as you please with 



36 Delta TUpsilon 

the tent ; take it or leave it. 

New York State has over seven millions population. 
It is first in wealth, population, commerce, intelli- 
gence, as is witnessed by the public officials it has. 
It contains the second largest city in the world, 
whose gates swing inward, bringing to our shores 
people from every clime, who are immediately assim- 
ilated, some by Tammany Hall, and some otherwise. 

It is already first in educational matters. Only a 
few people in Massachusetts know where Hamiilton 
College is. It is interesting to rem.ember that the first 
public school in the United States was in New York. 
Here was put in force the doctrine that the property 
of the State should educate all the people of the State. 

Here the first teachers' and scholars' fund was 
given to' the public. Beginning in 1795 there was ex- 
pended for five years, one hundred thousand dollars 
annually to educate the boys and girls, it being held that 
the children of the poor were entitled to the same priv- 
ileges as those of the rich. New York city contains 
the oldest school in the State, which was the first to 
establish State supervision. We have two boards — the 
Regents and the State Superintendent of Public In- 
struction. There may be diversity, but unity in its 
diversity. Only a few years hence these two depart- 
ments will be merged into one. New York has been 
the foremost of all the States in educational matters. 

While we have brought into our borders people 
from every clime, still we are the most intelligent of 
any in the United States. I want to call your atten- 
tion to the fact that we have a compulsory school law. 

While we have had 1,500,000 pupils in the public 
schools, only 200,000 between the ages of five and 
eighteen have been found without school advan- 



SemisvXeutennial 37 

tages. This shows that the compulsory education law 
is working admirably. One suggestion for the teach- 
ers here : The time has come for truant schools in 
centers, where the children can go without being 
sent to reformatories to be handled as criminals. 
It is a crying disgrace that so many boys and girls 
should be sent to reformatories and handled by 
shame. 

Though all of us have been educated within the 
bounds of New York State, and some of you have 
passed beyond its borders, it is the Empire State in 
the broadest sense. It takes the lead not only in the 
fight for sound money, but it takes the lead in educa- 
tional matters, because within its borders is Hamilton 
College." 

John N. Beach responded to the toast : 'Hamilton 
College Benefactors. 'May they be many and wise.' 
He said: 

" The astute lawyer always recognizes the exaft 
point at which to rest his case and submit it to the 
court or jury. He knows just when an additional 
plea would prove detrimental to him. I once heard 
a Frenchman on shipboard say, that in making a gin 
cocktail, when you had put in the gin, the sugar, 
and the water, anything added after that was.apt to 
spoil it. I think this principle applies to us here this 
afternoon. We have won our case. We have estab- 
lished the fact — as we never fail to do on occasions of 
this kind — that Hamilton is the best college in exist- 
ence ; and today we have shown that the Delta 
U. Society is the best society, that the Hamilton 
Chapter outranks all others, and now is the opportune 
moment for us to rest our case and submit it to the 
judgment of an intelligent and impartial public. 



38 2)elta TUpeilon 

I can not, however, forego the privilege of saying 
just a word along tbe line marked out for me, and this, 
Mr. President, within my allotted limit of time. Ham- 
ilton College, throughout her honorable career — from 
the day of the sainted Kirkland, until now — has been 
rich in her friendships, if not in material wealth. She 
has reason to feel proud of her noble army of friends 
and benefadors, ever loyal and true. Of these none 
are deserving of greater praise, none call forth more 
grateful rememberances, none a deeper reverence, 
than the faculty — the men who term after term, year 
after year, generation after generation, during all this 
time have been doing the practical work of the col- 
lege — which today makes her stand for all that is 
good, true, elevating, and inspiring. Do you think 
we fully appreciate the patient, unselfish devotion, the 
unswerving fidelity, which have characterized this 
noble body of men ? Eminently qualified by native 
endowments and by scholarly culture to have won 
for themselves the world's renown and the world's 
emoluments, their sole, consecrated ambition has been 
to do the work of this college faithfully and well, and 
this for a pecuniary consideration, at which the 
average clerk in our mercantile establishments would 
snap his fingers in disgust. 

Do we realize the self-sacrifice practiced by that 
prince of men who today occupies the presidential 
chair of Hamilton College.^ Just after his induction to 
his high office, I happened into a leading banking 
house in the city of New York one day. The presi- 
dent invited me into his private office and when we 
were alone he said to me : ' You know Dr. Stryker 
very well, 1 believe?' 1 replied in the affirmative. He 
asked : 'Are you interested in him ? ' I said : * Yes ; but, ' 



Semi-centennial 39 

( knowing at what he was aiming ) I added, ' I am 
interested in Hamilton College as well.' 'But,' said he, 
' if you are really interested in Dr. Stryker as a personal 
friend I cannot see how you can decline to aid us in 
what we are trying to do. We want to secure him 
as the pastor of our church. We understand that he is 
receiving about five thousand dollars a year and a 
house; we will give him $15,000 a year and a house 
in the city of New York ; and why should he bury 
himself among the hills of Oneida County ?' 1 said to 
him : ' My dear Sir, 1 appreciate what all this means 
to a man having a growing family for whom to care. 
I am sure there is very much in New York life which 
would be most congenial to a man like Dr. Stryker. 
He would stand in the very foremost rank of metropol- 
itan preachers, but if you knew him as well as 1 do, 
you would realize that your influence and mine, 
coupled with all the money in your plethoric vaults, 
could not seduce him from his high purpose. He 
has ' burned his bridges behind him' and now turns 
a deaf ear to loud and persistent calls to enter other 
attractive fields of labor and he will continue * until 
his work is done' where he believes God has placed 
him.' Happily such devotion is beginning to be recog- 
nized and appreciated, as the Root Hall of Science 
and the Benedict Hall of Languages bear ample 
testimony. When before in the history of Hamilton 
have we been permitted to see two college buildings 
in process of eredion at one time ? Note if you please, 
the wisdom of these twain noble benefadors of the 
college, in having determined to execute their own 
plans and purposes, unwilling to run the risk of 
having them submitted to ' the law's delay ' and the 
college called upon to pass through other dark and 



40 2>elta "UlpsUon 

troublous days before the realization of Fayerweather 
hopes. May the example of these loyal sons of Ham- 
ilton find many followers, until this dear college be 
fully equipped for her heaven-born mission and 
destiny." 

Henry C. Maine responded to the toast : T>elta 
Upsilon Editors. ' Men of dash and men of the 
period.' He said : 

" I have been an editor twenty-seven years. I have 
seen some men of dash, and they are not in business 
now. 1 know I am a man of the period. 1 was 
celebrated in Frank Leslie's the other day as having 
once engaged the present governor of New York at 
four dollars per week. That was about twenty years 
ago, but the publication was only a few days ago. 
1 had some suggestions of this young man when I en- 
gaged him. He was just out of college — care- 
ful, accurate, and conscientious. Though 1 was 
giving him then all that we could pay, 1 am not sur- 
prised today that he is governor of New York. 

I want to say a word to the young men of Delta U. 
There is great opportunity for usefulness in the 
editorial profession. There is great room at the bot- 
tom and also at the top. There is not much of a fort- 
une in it. Every editor feels that he is lifting the 
world just a little, and when he stops feeling that 
way, he is useless. In my humble way I have tried 
to accomplish something as a newspaper man. 
While I may not have accomplished much, I feel 
today 1 am not dishonoring the college and the Delta 
U. Fraternity. Alexander Hamilton laid down the 
lines of this institution strongly. You have not paid 
too much attention to this great publicist. " 

Edv/ard M. Bassett responded to the toast: College 



Semi-centennial 41 

Friendships. 'They are unique and potent for good.' 
He said : 

"It is not how many friends we have, but how true 
they are. The man is rare who has more than a 
score. Friends can not be had for the asking. They 
come by chance ; they happen to come. Happy is 
the man who has friends, and happier he who can live 
among them. There is no word so sad as the word, 
* friendless. ' As we grow older, we learn not to 
squander our friends. They can not be easily re- 
placed. We cherish them as pearls of great price. 
He is a foolish man who severs a friendship in mo- 
mentary anger. There are periods of friendship as 
there are apple seasons. There are other periods in 
life, but none like college youth. Friendships that 
have grown gelatinous in sophomore year, crystallized 
in junior year are firm forever after. At some colleges 
the 'coeds' distract. At others the students meet only 
when they recite. But here we have lived together, 
walked and talked, eaten and slept together. Our fra- 
ternity has proved a bond that has drawn our friend- 
ship closer. Help in drill and help in financial mat- 
ters have not been withheld. Better than wealth is 
the manly spirit of Christian independence which has 
always had a place in Delta U. 

Our friends are part of our lives, as our arms are 
part of our bodies. The mention of dear old college 
names rekindles the ardor of youth. Such friends 
can help to better living. We are helped by their 
success, encouraged by their trials, and softened by 
their sorrows. We weigh our college friendships by 
a different standard from others. Glorious peculiarity 
of the dear old college bond ; kindly influence to 
brighten and bless the years as we pass through them; 
sweet memories as we shall reach declining years!" 



42 2)elta Tllpsilon 

Rev. Isaac Platt Powell responded to the toast : 
<iAuld Lang Syne. * It had its flavors.' He spoke 
somewhat as follows : 

*M have been wondering how much of an appetite 
for toast this Delta U. has. You have had it in every 
shape. You have had milk toast, dry toast, quail on 
toast, and several other kinds. The varieties have 
been as numerous as the kinds of Thanksgiving cake 
at Quinn's boarding house a mile north of the col- 
lege — seven kinds, all doughnuts twisted different 
ways. 

And now I am supposed to furnish the flavor. 
Well, *Auld Lang Syne' had its flavors ; and, living 
near the college from childhood until graduation, I 
had an opportunity to get a taste of them. I feel as 
if I had graduated eight or ten times, each time getting 
fresh flavors. The first thing that impressed me both 
before and after entering college was that old-time, 
superb, gracious, dignified, scholarly manhood that 
was represented in Dr. Davis and Dr. North. There 
are such things as modern improvements ; but not 
improvements upon those chara6ters. 1 received from 
those lives the flavor of a high-toned Christian man- 
hood. They were Christian gentlemen of the old 
type whom to know was to love and revere. Fortu- 
nate was the boy or young man who received the 
impress of those lives. Theirs was the fragrance of 
the garden of the Lord. 

Then, too, 1 perceived the flavor of deviltry, which 
has largely passed away. There was no mistaking its 
odor. It was so pungent you could see it — especially 
when all the front fences were torn down from the 
top of the hill to the creek about once a month, or 
oftener, always including the 'Queen of Sheba's' and 



Semls=Centennial 43 

my father's. It was also visible when the boys took 
the carcass of a large sheep from our woodshed and 
hung it up over the pulpit in the chapel to aid devo- 
tions in the morning. It was also visible when some 
young cattle were driven into the chapel one Saturday 
night and half-a-ton of new-mown hay was carried 
in for bedding. This was more highly flavored by 
' Pete's ' talk the next morning when he found them 
there. To change the figure, ' Pete painted the 
Hill red.' The flavor of the chapel during service 
that Sunday morning is also worth recording. 

Then there was the flavor of Dr. Backus' wit. One 
day a farmer came along with some wood to sell. It 
looked very white and the farmer said it was knot 
maple. The doftor bought it and tried to burn it. 
It proved to be green basswood. In speaking of it 
afterward Dr. Backus said : 'I ought to have one 
more cord of that wood on philanthropic principles. 
I am inclined to think that one more cord would put 
all hell out ! ' Whether he succeeded does not 
interest us. We are of the Delta U. and not headed 
that way. 

Speaking of deviltry, this college has had its periods. 
It was first barbarous, semi-barbarous, semi-civilized, 
civilized, and enlightened. The enlightenment began 
in an old dining-room when I was a child. There 
was a keyhole, a big one, and I looked through. I 
saw my father go into that dining-room after morn- 
ing prayers. I looked in and saw he was praying 
again. He was praying for his little boy, for me. 
That moment had more influence on my life than all 
the others ever recorded. I looked through that key- 
hole later when the Delta U. boys occupied it. I got 
an inspiration from that a6l and it has helped me all 



44 



Delta lapsilon 



through life. 



It helps me today. I got from these 
ancestors the flavor of magnificent scholarship and 
noble manhood. " 





THE EVENING 



]N the evening the Chapter House was filled to 
overflowing. Professor Francis M. Burdick, 
LL. D. presided. 
All joined in singing the Semi-Centennial 
Ode (p. 20). 

Professor Frank H. Robson spoke on Higher 
Education. 'We stand pledged to it.' He said : 

"You have the speaker present, but the toast may 
be dry by being left over. But the subjed is never 
dry. Why not higher education ? We are gathered 
as college men. We represent a society of college 
men in a building of college men. Who, if not v/e, 
should be pledged to higher education ? 

In the last fifty years we have had in this college 
seven out of fifty valedi6lorians, or one in seven ; twelve 
out of fifty salutatorians, or one in four; five out of 
forty-one Clark-prize orators, or one in eight ; thirty- 
one out of two hundred and forty-six Clark-prize ap- 
pointments, or one in eight ; seven out of thirty-three 
Head prizes, or one in five ; five out of thirty-four 
Pruyn medals, or one in seven ; three out of twenty- 
four Kirkland prizes, or one in eight ; six out of thirty 
first-prize debaters, or one in five ; thirty-four out of 



46 2)elta Tflpsilon 

one hundred and seventy-four appointments, or one in 
five ; thirteen out of seventy-eight Curran classical 
medals, or one in six. Our total number compared to 
the whole number in college is one out of eight or 
ten ; while of honors we have won one out of five or 
six. So I say that by the prizes we have won as a 
fraternity we are conneded with higher education. 

Also by the prizes we have won in private life. 
Let me instance Dr.'MAYNARD of Colgate ; Professor 
BuRDicK, whom three colleges have tried to hold ; 
Professor Streibert of Kenyon College ; D. J. Pratt, 
E. W. Lyttle, and S. D. Arms of the State Board of 
Regents ; Dr. Allen of Chicago ; Dr. Payson and Dr. 
George Griffith ; Professors Squires and Dodge ; all 
of whom have won honors in working for higher 
education. By the work that these men have done and 
by all their lives we are pledged to higher education. 
The ideals of higher education are changing and 
have changed considerably. We ask now : What is 
the relation of the course to the man ? We are not as 
before trying to fit the man to the education, but the 
education to the man. The concern heretofore has 
always been to look out for the safety of the course, 
the curriculum. Hold that stiff and strong and let the 
man take care of himself. That may have developed 
the few, but it killed the many. All ambition was 
driven out by that ironclad course to which the many 
were obliged to conform. You will notice that the 
college today is one of laboratories. You saw the 
new buildings on the hill. The question now is : 
What are the fads ? Not what you think they are. 
It is so with other knowledge today ; it is to find 
out the absolute fads and to make your education 
conform. We will have theoretical empiricism, 



Semi*Gentennial 47 

which gives us the higher education. 

Further, we are questioning our teachers. It is 
no longer : Is the man orthodox ? It is now : Does 
he know enough and does he have the facility of get- 
ting into sympathy with his pupils ? It is a very 
serious fault if the professor can not get along with 
the boys. The teacher must not only have the 
knowledge, but the way to impart it. When a man 
goes before a little child, and the child is repelled, 
that man will never do for an educator. The question 
today is not merely one of ability, but has the man 
the guiding power, the sympathetic entrance to the 
human heart ; that power to lead out of the soul that 
which is within. Education is a drawing out, a 
development of the soul and the teacher merely guides 
and inspires. 

In a broader sense still we are interested in educa- 
tion. Every man of us who believes that we can 
improve the relations between the employer and the 
employee, and make society sweeter and purer, all 
these are pledged to higher education." 

Rev. Dr. Henry Randall Waite was called on and 
said : 

*M received a note from Brothers Dodge and Powell 
asking me to take part in this program. I answered 
that much more to my regret than to that of any other, 
it would be impossible for me to be here. Later I 
decided to come. I came, but not with a speech. I 
am reminded of the advice a Londonderry professor 
gave his pupils on how to make a speech and not fail. 
It was : * Finish your speech before you begin it.' 

I have been asked to speak on Civics. Delta U. has 
some connexion with it. At the semi-centennial of 
the fraternity at the Academy of Music, New York, I 



48 2)elta Tllpsilon 

delivered an address on The Scholar in Politics. I 
gave considerable attention to the subject of the educa- 
tion of the American people with reference to the dis- 
charge of civic obligations, and in connection with that 
all of the material that they need for preparation in 
discharging the duties of citizens. 1 could not find a 
word to cover it. The word politics had become a 
trade and had lost its higher meaning. Economics 
didn't cover it. Ethics didn't cover it, because it was 
not treated as a subject of study to any extent in any 
of the institutions of the land. It included all these. 
So in that address I proposed that a new word be in- 
troduced that applied to and would embrace all these. 
That v/ord was civics. That word has been adopted 
and has come to stay. An institution has been formed 
called the American Institute of Civics, of which 1 
have had the honor to have been president for thirteen 
years. That institution has communication with two 
hundred and forty American colleges ; it has a corps 
of two hundred and thirty-five public lecturers, most 
of whom stand ready to give their services freely in 
educating the American people, old and young, in the 
matter of civics. It has many organizations working 
along the same lines. It is in a sense a part of civic 
federations. Within the last three weeks there have 
come from men who are interested in reforms, re- 
quests for inspiration to form clubs for the study of 
civics. So through the Delta U. I have had the honor 
of being able to work on hard lines for civic growth. 
Delta U. stands for far more than we sometimes 
appreciate. There has been a need in America, dating 
back of the present generation, for the introduction 
of an element in American life that has been going out ; 
and that is the element of high moral character. In 



Semis»Centenntal 



49 



the early days of the republic, when religion went 
hand in hand with education, there was a basis for 
the building of character which seems to have dwin- 
dled as a result of the secularization of our public 
schools. I am not an advocate of methods in educa- 
tion that represent a union with any form of religion, 
but I do believe that the time has come when it is 
imperatively necessary that there should be brought 
back into the public schools something of the spirit 
that went out when they were secularized. The vital 
need of the republic today is better, wider, and more 
efficient educational provisions in the matter of moral 
training. 1 believe that what an eminent mem.ber of 
the American Institute of Civics, the late Dr. George 
L. Prentiss, described as the 'dry-rot in politics' or 
the spirit of 'every man for himself, and the devil 
take the hindmost,' at present so painfully manifest 
not only in politics, but in business, are evils which 
have grown out of negle6is of duty in the matter of 
education. Conditions attendant upon the general 
race for the prizes of life, in which the spirit of altru- 
ism is absent, have contributed through several gener- 
ations to the training of purely selfish men. We are 
in need of more men possessed of the spirit that grows 
out of a proper regard for the Decalogue and the New 
Commandment given in a later day. We do not 
need to be preachers in order to cultivate this spirit ; 
we do need to get behind doctrine and dogma, back 
to the holy principles that underlie and contribute to 
the development of true character and real manhood. 
Let me tell you a truth in regard to the matter of 
character building, which you do not all of you per- 
haps appreciate as fully as you ought : Delta U. in 
1834 began a work of character building in the field 



50 2)clta "Ulpsilon 

of education by introducing into American college life 
the principles which have animated. the fraternity 
from that day to this. If I have done anything 
through my humble efforts for the advancement of 
this great work in the United States, it has not been a 
result of accident or of any combination of fortuitous 
circumstances, but because of the spirit with which 
I was in a large degree indoctrinated as a member of 
the Delta U. Fraternity. When I went out from col- 
lege and started life in the larger world, the principles 
of this fraternity were a safe platform for my feet ; 
and on that platform 1 have endeavored to stand ever 
since. What has been done in this chapter in the 
way of shaping character, has been done in the chap- 
ters throughout the land. We have been building 
higher than we thought, because we have been doing 
all that we could in the way of making manly men ; 
and it is to the results of such work that we must 
look for purer politics, a higher code of ethics in 
society generally, and the true reform in public affairs 
which will not suffer change with any change of 
administration. 

The true Delta U. spirit is the spirit which must 
dominate the better nation — the nation which will 
place the best qualified men in charge of its affairs, 
and having done this in towns, municipalities, states 
and everywhere, will not lose its public and private 
virtue between election days; — the nation whose 
laws will be enforced, because public sentiment will 
be masterful enough to enforce them. For the attain- 
ment of results like these, we must look to regener- 
ative influences precisely similar to those that have 
gone out from this fraternity since 1834 and from this 
chapter since 1847." 



Semi-centennial 



51 



Rev. Dr. Henry Ward presented a report on the 
formation of a Delta U. Fraternity Association. 
The matter was discussed at some length, but was 
finally referred to the trustees of the chapter, and 
a committee consisting of Professor F. M. Burdick, 
Charles H. Searle, and Edward M. Bassett, to 
report at the next meeting. 

The following members were elected 

OFFICERS FOR 1897-8 

Honorary President, Rev. Milton Waldo, D. D. 

<^cting 'President, Rev. Dwight Scovel. 

Honorary Vice l^residents. 

Rev. Henry Ward, D. D., 
Dr. Selden H. Talcott, Ph. D., 

Hon. WlLLARD M. LlLLIBRIDGE, 

John N. Beach, 

James S. Baker, 

James S. Greves, 

Rev. Richard G. Keyes, 

Henry C. Maine. 
Secretary, Byron E. Turnbull. 
Treasurer, Melvin G. Dodge. 

In June of 1898 Edward M. Bassett, present from 
the committee appointed the previous year, reported 
and recommended the adoption of the following : 

BY-LAWS OF THE CORPORATION OF THE 
HAMILTON CHAPTER OF THE DELTA UPSILON 
FRATERNITY. 

I. The membership of this corporation shall include 
the active chapter of the Delta Upsilon Fraternity at 
Hamilton College, and all who have belonged to such 
chapter and are in good standing. 



52 2)elta "Ulpsilon 

II. The corporation shall hold a meeting each year on 
Wednesday of commencement week at 8 :}0 a. m'. 
in the rooms of the chapter in Clinton, N. Y. 
Twelve members shall constitute a quorum. At the 
annual meeting an honorary president and eight 
honorary vice-presidents shall be elected from the 
corporation to represent the corporation at large. 

III. The affairs of the corporation shall be managed 
by a board of nine trustees. Three trustees shall be 
elected at each annual meeting of the corporation for 
a term of three years. It shall be arranged that the 
terms of three trustees shall expire each year. In 
case of vacancy the board shall have power to fill 
such vacancy until the annual meeting of the corpo- 
ration. 

IV. During commencement week and after the 
annual meeting of the corporation, the regular meet- 
ing of the board of trustees shall be held. They shall 
elect by ballot from among their number a president, 
secretary, and treasurer, to aft for the ensuing year. 
These officers shall be the officers of the corporation 
for the ensuing year. 

V. Special meetings of the trustees shall be called at 
the request of the president or of four of the trustees. 
Written notice of each special meeting shall be mailed 
to each trustee at least five days before the holding of 
such meeting. 

VI. It is contemplated that the active chapter shall 
manage its own affairs, and to that end it may adopt 
and alter from time to time its Constitution, Regula- 
tions, and Rules of Order, elect its officers, and trans- 
act its business, subject however in all things to the 
paramount authority of the board of trustees. 

No officers of the active chapter shall have author- 



Seml^sCentennfal 



3.3 



ity to bind the corporation by contract. 

For the purpose of avoiding confusion, the adive 
chapter shall have no set of rules called by-laws, and 
the corporation shall have no set of rules called a con- 
stitution. 

VII. For the guidance of the corporation on subjeds 
not covered by these By-Laws, reference shall be made 
to the A3, of the Legislature of the State of New York 
passed on May 12, 1875, entitled ''An A6t for the In- 
corporation of Societies and Clubs for Certain Lawful 
Purposes" and the ads amendatory thereof, under 
which the corporation was formed ; the General Cor- 
poration Law, and the Membership Corporations Law, 
of the State of New York. 

The report was adopted. 

Rev. Edward P. Powell for the trustees reported 
and recommended the adoption of the following : 

RESOLUTION 

The corporation of the Hamilton Chapter of Delta 
Upsilon shall have as specific objeds : 

1. To sustain the Chapter House in the best 
condition for the physical, intelledual, and moral 
welfare of the adive members. For this end will be 
recognized the need of (a) a library kept well furnished 
with the more important books as they are published ; 
(b) a well-equipped reading-room; (c) lectures on 
the hygiene of study, the relation of body and mind, 
the best methods of combining physical, intelledual, 
and moral growth, the moral obligations of student life, 
the professions ahead and how to fit for them — in 
other words to stimulate the young men along the 
line for which Delta Upsilon was founded. 

2. To look after young men about to enter college 



54 



2)elta THpsilon 



and advise with the a6live members concerning 
them. 

3. To assist in securing for the active members em- 
ployment as soon as they shall leave the college. 

4. It shall not be foreign to the corporation to 
create a fraternal spirit among all the college clubs, 
and to cooperate with them on lines of general use- 
fulness both for the chapter houses and the college. 

The report was adopted. 




